Case Study | Theft | Deal or No Deal

Theft | Deal or No Deal

Sometimes a deal is too good to be true—and sometimes a qualified buyer can be too good to be true.

Lauth Investigations International was contacted by a client who represented a local car dealership. The Subject in this case was a customer who had provided a fake social security number in order to get a better purchase price for a vehicle with no money down. The Subject drove off the car lot with the vehicle in question, and all attempts to contact her for payment following the initial contract were unsuccessful.

The Investigation

After conducting initial interviews and reviewing the contract documents, Lauth began an online search for Subject.

After locating her social media, Lauth was able to pull photos from her accounts that contained images of the vehicle in question. Using EXIF data embedded in the photos, investigators were able to determine where the photo was taken and track the Subject’s movements. The Subject was moving from state to state, which made it difficult for the dealership to find her. Subject had a history in vehicle theft was certainly a risk at the time of the contract.

The Solution

Using the GPS location information included in the EXIF data, the investigator was able to locate the vehicle and take possession.

Vehicle was returned to the client and was traded to another dealership. Lauth recommended the dealership improve their verification process regarding sensitive customer information.